Deschamps’ France will face Argentina and a Leo Messi in ‘scintillating form’ in Sunday’s final

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose and so if France are to win the World Cup then, just like four years ago, they must overcome Argentina and Lionel Messi.

However, instead of a last 16 tie at Russia 2018, France will have to defeat Argentina in the final after Didier Deschamps’ side overcame a valiant Morocco team 2-0 in Wednesday evening’s semi-final in Al Bayt.

The French Head Coach said “it wasn’t an easy victory” with Deschamps noting how proud he was of his players who had to “dig deep in the challenging moments of the match” against Morocco.

The win sets up the chance of becoming the first men’s team to retain their World Cup crown since Brazil 60 years ago.

Deschamps’ influence on the victory was clear for all to see with a couple of switches in the second half that got his team back on track when their opponents were on top.

He introduced Marcus Thuram on the hour mark in place of Olivier Giroud to deal with issues on the left and the sub Randal Kolo Muani came on to score the crucial second goal 11 minutes from time.

“On the left flank we did have problems. We put Marcus on the left to make runs in behind and help Kylian Mbappe remain up front and save some energy.

“Giroud played four days ago and suffered some tiredness and got a knock earlier in the game. Marcus played very well when he came on and showed how powerful he is as a player and he forced Morocco on the back foot.”

Argentina will be a different prospect than Morocco particularly with Leo Messi in the side. Dechamps described the Argentinian skipper as being “in scintillating form in this tournament” and the man-of-the-match Antoine Griezmann was also asked in the post-match press conference about Messi.

“Any team with Messi is a totally different proposition,” said the Atlético Madrid star who has played a crucial part in seeing France return to the World Cup final four years on from Russia.

“We have seen Argentina play. They don’t just have Messi but a strong side around him. They will have a lot of support in the crowd but we will be well prepared.”

The concerns for France not only revolve around dealing with Messi but also dealing with the sickness in the camp that saw Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano miss out on starting in the semi-final. However both should be available on Sunday.

Deschamps, who was congratulated along with his team in the dressing room after the game by French President Emmanuel Macron, noted that the illness has arisen due to temperatures having fallen in Doha in the last few day, the ubiquitous air conditioning and that the players have made “great efforts on the pitch and so their immune system is weakened.”

He wasn’t drawn on a question about the possibility of Karim Benzema returning for the final and he praised Youssouf Fofana and Aurelien Tchouameni who he brought in to start Wednesday’s semi-final.

“They have great qualities and play with top clubs. They are good enough to play at this level. They have tremendous potential and quality. I had no doubt putting both of them in the team tonight."

World Cup report: France 2 – 0 Morocco https://t.co/tan8iUXe77pic.twitter.com/0fxlEyCFwc

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) December 14, 2022